Lucknow: In yet another act of vandalism, some unidentified persons on Monday damaged a statue of dalit icon Bhim Rao Ambedkar in Dalmau area in Rae Bareli district of Uttar Pradesh.

The damaged statue was replaced with a new one by the local administration, IGP (Law and Order) B P Singh said here.

"Ambedkar's statue was vandalised by some persons in Dalmau area. The statue was replaced with a new one," he said.

A statue of former Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru was also damaged in Aligarh on Monday when some children were playing cricket, the IGP said.

The cricket ball hit the statue damaging it, he said. On July 26, a marble statue of former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and BSP supremo Mayawati was vandalised in Gomti Nagar area in the state capital, sparking tension.

Two days later, statues of Ambedkar were damaged by some persons at three places in Azamgarh leading to protests from BSP workers who blocked roads and staged demonstrations.

On the "Vishesh Suraksha Vahini" set up by the erstwhile Mayawati government for safety of parks and memorials, the IGP said the state government was planning to provide arms to its personnel.